Scientific Method
by ancarett
Summary: Tony's dead-set on collecting some data about the intriguing Miss Potts. But who does science serve, in the end?


"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"

"No, it will not, Miss Potts."

The unexpected response stopped her in mid-spin on those ridiculously high heels. Flailing, Pepper nonetheless recovered her balance, if not her dignity, and turned to regard her boss with wide eyes.

Tony Stark eyed his assistant thoughtfully. At least, the look might have been described as thoughtful had it not been for the twitching of his lips.

Pepper glared with what she hoped was convincing sternness. "Yes, Mr. Stark?"

"What, Miss Potts?" The twitch turned into a full-out grin with all the charm that Tony Stark could muster and Pepper Potts knew that he was just playing with her.

Pepper's temper frayed at the way her boss easily derailed the breezy, professional air she'd maintained until a few moments ago: all the work plans and meetings that he'd agreed to, she suspected, had just been to lull her into a false sense of security so he could pull this -- whatever! -- he was playing at. She felt the accompanying flush of annoyance and embarrassment rush colour across her cheeks. "What do you want, Tony?" Pepper snapped.

His eyebrows rose stratospherically at the question and Pepper couldn't help but blush as she belatedly realized how what she said could be construed. Pulling his hands out of the shoulder armour he'd been tinkering with throughout their earlier conversation, Tony Stark eased around his workbench, all the while watching her carefully as he wiped his hands clean on a rag and stalked closer.

"Well, I want a pony, a BB gun, a couple of G.I. Joes, you know, the really cool ones with Kung-Fu action, and, just maybe, world peace, but seeing as you're not Santa Claus, I figure we could settle on something a bit more scientific," he said, a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes as he closed the distance between himself and his assistant.

Pepper closed her eyes in an attempt to compose herself. This, she admitted a moment later, was a mistake, because it meant that when she opened them, she was up close and personal with her formidable boss.

The constant, low light of the arc reactor embedded in his sternum cast a faint blue glow upwards to accentuate the five o'clock (or, to be more accurate, ten p.m.) shadow that softened the normally trim edges of his goatee. It also played up the quirk of his lips as he watched her watch him and. . . oh damn!, there she was, blushing again.

"I don't think that would be appropriate, sir. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"No."

"What?"

"I said, no, I won't excuse you, Pepper. Do you need your hearing checked? Because I could have Jarvis book you an appointment with a specialist. Hearing's very important, you know. I expect you've damaged your hearing listening to all that loud music-"

"Tony! No!" Her words were abrupt, clipped.His eyes widened with put-on hurt and, despite knowing it was a sham, she stammered out a justification. "Look, my hearing's fine, just fine," she added as he cocked his head in a pose of concern, "but I have work to do and if you really don't need anything else that's on my normal list of responsibilities-"

"We have a list?" Tony asked with what appeared to be genuine interest. "Really?"

Pepper pursed her lips slightly. "I was being metaphorical, sir."

"Tony, please. If we're getting all metaphorical, I think we can dispense with the formalities," her boss said. "Anyway, like I said, I need your cooperation on a little scientific experiment."

Pepper tilted her head and gave her boss a wary glance. "Nothing to do with the suit?"

Tony raised one hand as if taking a vow. Pepper ignored the way his fingers slipped past the breast pocket of her tailored suit, close enough to touch and kept her chin firmly lifted. Somewhere, she'd read that pose was a sign of strength, not that it ever seemed to really intimidate Tony Stark. She had the feeling he was just humouring her as he promised this was a suit-free endeavour: "Honest, I swear, nope, never again, no way."

At Pepper's disbelieving stare, he qualified his words, "Well, not right now."

She smirked but before she could savour her victory, he was back on the attack. "As I was saying, Miss Potts, I have a scientific question that I need your assistance with and, as you're my assistant, it's kind of your job, anyway, isn't it?"

Pepper raised her eyebrows at this but kept the smile intact. "All right, I'll 'assist' you on this experiment, then."

"Good," Tony said with evident satisfaction. He stepped back slightly and Pepper breathed an audible sigh of relief. But before she could really relax, his gaze locked with hers and his hands were up near her pocket and-

"Mr. Stark, what are you doing?"

"Ah, ah, ah. Tony! Let's not take a step backward, shall we?"

Pepper's eyes widened as she involuntarily did just that. There was something more than a little unnerving about having that laser-focus turn on her this way, reminiscent of that disastrous evening at the gala when he'd asked, no, _commanded_ her to dance with him. "Mr. Stark? Really! I'm here to help you with a scientific experiment, right?"

Tony nodded but his hands were hovering somewhere dangerously between them. His voice had a distracted softness to the tone just like when he was tinkering with the designs for his suit or the engine on his hot rod. "Yeah, yeah, you are. I've always wondered about this. . . ."

Without warning, his lips were on hers, warm and firm and persuasive, one of his hands at her cheek and the other sliding between her arm and her ribs to lightly hold her against him. Unthinkingly, Pepper opened her mouth against the pressure and blinked her eyes closed, but only for an instant, to open them up and see his very serious, dark eyes meeting her own. The hum of the arc reactor was overridden by the loud beating of two hearts.

With a gasp, Pepper broke the kiss. Her eyes flickered, back and forth, searching for answers in his enigmatic face. Within seconds, Pepper felt another hot flush rise from her chest, up her neck and across her face. His eyes ranged across her upper body, tracking the spread of the blush and a smile brightened his face.

"Trial one, complete," he murmured, releasing Pepper from his light hold.

Her brows dropped and, with a subvocalized growl, Pepper grabbed Tony's face, nestling long fingers against the trim lines of his beard, and pulled him in for a fierce kiss. No sooner had it begun than she stepped back, tugging her suit jacket down and slipping one hand over her slightly rumpled bun. "Experiment over, Mr. Stark."

Tony huffed and raised one eyebrow. "You don't know science, Pepper. There need to be lots of trials in lots of different environments. We've got to eliminate variables and get down to a true understanding of the situation."

Pepper glared. "I am not a science project, Mr. Stark. Experiment over!" She made her exit from the workshop with commendable grace and at least a few tattered shreds of dignity.

Tony just leaned back against his workbench and contemplatively tapped his fingers against the lambent glow of his arc reactor. "Some days I love science," he announced thoughtfully as he turned back to his workbench.

"I'm sure you do, sir," Jarvis said smoothly.

"Smart ass," Tony retorted as he picked up a particularly long screwdriver, and set to detaching components from the shoulder assembly of the Mark III suit. "Watch out or I'll just decompile your program and see how you like it."

Jarvis sighed elaborately. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Yeah, no, wait a minute." Tony grinned wolfishly as he delicately adjusted the firing mechanisms to move smoothly and independently on their castors. "Can you make sure that Pepper's back down here in an hour or so? I don't want to hold off the second trial for too long."

"As you require, sir."

Tony nodded. "Oh, and fire up some Jethro Tull, willya? I'm gonna need something to keep the scientific spirit flowing." A pounding beat roared out of the speakers as Tony set to work.

Upstairs, Pepper felt the tremors of the bass carry through the soles of her shoes and sighed. Curling up on the living room couch muted the vibrations from the music so that she could get back to work. Still, as she sorted through the inbox and flagged some projects for detailed consideration, she couldn't help but lift her fingers to her lips.

"Science," Pepper snorted.

"Miss Potts?" Jarvis's soothing voice drew her attention.

"Yes, Jarvis?"

"Just to let you know, Mr. Stark will be wanting your assistance again in an hour or so."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the alert." She couldn't help the smug smile that lit up her face at the thought of another sparring match with Tony, especially one for which she was forewarned.

"My pleasure, Miss Potts. May I say that you're taking all of this quite well."

Pepper let her smile grow even wider. "Mr. Stark isn't the only one who conducts science experiments, Jarvis. Some of us are just, erm, more subtle than others."

Jarvis emitted an electronic chuckle. "Understood, Miss Potts. I'll let you know when it's time to return to the experiment."

Pepper nodded. "Oh, and Jarvis? No sharing this with Mr. Stark."

"I wouldn't dream of spoiling the fun," Jarvis assured her. "After all, it's in the name of science!"


End file.
